Republican defeats senator from Indiana; Democrats occupy the N.J.

The Democrats kept two highly contested seats in the Senate in West Virginia and New Jersey, while Senators Joe Manchin and Bob Menendez defended Republicans.

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Mr Manchin's victory is remarkable as his state voted for Mr Trump in 2016 by 42 percentage points. Mr. Manchin was one of the few Democrats who supported some elements of the president's agenda, including being the only Democrat to support Justice Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation of the Supreme Court last month.

Mr. Trump also won Indiana in 2016, with 56.9% of the vote. The Republicans blamed Mr. Donnelly, a senator from his first term, for voting against Mr. Kavanaugh's confirmation.

In New Jersey, Mr. Menendez holds two terms and was weakened by his charge of corruption in federal courts in 2015, which resulted in a lawsuit for annulment and reprimand by senators.

Mr. Hugin was one of the few Republican candidates that Mr. Trump had chosen

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earlier on Tuesday to promote. Trump called the Republican "a success all his life" and urged residents of New Jersey to support the candidate.

Republicans are expected to retain their majority in the Senate. But Mr. Menendez's victory could be a good sign for the hopes of Democrats to regain a majority in the House. In New Jersey, four home races organized by the GOP are considered competitive. Democrats see the way forward to win the majority in the House in the state.

Republicans currently have a 51-49 majority in the Senate and the election card is good for them. Democrats defend 26 seats in the Senate, including 10 in states won by Trump in 2016. Republicans seek to retain control of nine seats in this election, and only one Republican, Senator Dean Heller of Nevada, is running in the state Hillary. Clinton won in 2016.

Elsewhere, the races remained too tight Tuesday night in states that will determine the party that will control the Senate next year, in campaigns largely considered a referendum on the presidency of Mr. Trump.

Polling stations closed in states where the Senate was very tight, including Florida, Arizona and Texas.

In Florida, Senator Bill Nelson is implicated by Republican Gov. Rick Scott, who is leaving his post due to a term limit.

In Arizona, Democrat Kyrsten Sinema and Republican Martha McSally vie for the seat of retired Republican Senator Jeff Flake.

Some less contested Senate races have already been called. In Ohio, the Associated Press predicted a victory for Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown – whose seat was Republican for his potential – while independent Senator Bernie Sanders won a third term in Vermont. The Democrats Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Tim Kaine of Virginia, Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Tom Carper of Delaware were also re-elected.

Republicans have expressed confidence that they will maintain or expand their advantage in the Senate, and Democrats privately acknowledge that the current representatives of North Dakota and Missouri are at risk of losing.

Senate Democrats have limited their visibility on Trump's territory: polls show that incumbents in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin (states that won in 2016) are on track to win. Democrats remain optimistic about inverting GOP-held seats in Arizona and Nevada, where the latest elections showed slight benefits for them. The itinerary of the last week of Mr. Trump has avoided the two western states.

Senate oversight will have a major impact on the second half of Mr. Trump's term. A majority of GOPs would allow the president to continue appointing conservative judges – which Mr. Trump has made a priority – and confirming candidates for positions in the administration. It would also help Mr. Trump if the Democrats won the House and sought to remove him, because a trial would be held in the Senate and the sentence would require a two-thirds majority vote.

The results of the Senate will also provide an opportunity to comment on the effectiveness of Mr. Trump's campaign on behalf of the country's Republican candidates. The president, who has organized several campaign rallies every week since Labor Day and traveled largely to states where Senate races are important, told reporters Sunday that his main focus was the Senate race. rather than the House.

A Wall Street Journal / NBC News poll released Sunday revealed how the election is a referendum on Mr. Trump. Nearly three quarters of likely voters said their vote was supposed to send a message about it: 32% said their vote was a sign of support for Mr Trump and 40% a sign of opposition; 28% said it was not a signal about the president.

Write to Rebecca Ballhaus at [email protected]